For tourists, every time when they visit the Palace Museum, most of them will exclaim at its magnificence and solemness as well as arising curiosity of one thing : how's a day of Qing emperors? What did they eat? What did they wear? How did they kill time? There are always numerous curiosities around the imperial court's daily life.

In Qing Dynasty, a day of an emperor could be mainly divided into two parts: working and living. As the man with paramount power and dominant position, emperors' words and behaviors were closely connected to the security and image of the whole state; therefore, there was a specialized official whose daily work was to record the emperor's words and deeds. Emperors' life was supposed to follow strict rules since it had to in accordance with requirements of Confucianism which claimed "Self-cultivation, Family Regulation, State Governance, Bringing Peace to All Under Heaven".

In Qing Dynasty, emperors' life style basically was based on Manchu traditions as well as extensively absorbed imperial rules of Han Dynasty, forming a comprehensive system regarding to emperors' diet, work and daily life. Except grand and important events such as enthronement ceremony or imperial hunting games, for Qing emperors, their daily life normally were composed of two parts: dealing with political affairs and conducting routine activities.

Nap Time & Dinner

Qing emperors would take a nap and then have their second formal meal in the day.

Go to bed

After finishing praying and sacrifices, the emperor would take a shower and then go to sleep, to end his one ordinary day.

The daily routine of emperors of Qing Dynasty was colorful and lavish. Just like emperors of successive dynasties, they extravagantly enjoyed material and spiritual treasures created by laboring people. However, through emperors' life, we could also have a glimpse of Chinese nation's diligence, wisdom and brilliant Chinese cultural heritage.

In conclusion, an ordinary day of Qing emperors usually started with getting up, then studying, eating, dealing with political affairs, conducting recreational activities, offering sacrifices and ended with going to sleep.